Apple investors reject Jobs succession plan call
Apple shareholders have rejected demands that the company disclose a succession plan for ailing chief executive Steve Jobs.
But investors at its annual meeting approved a proposal that the world’s most valuable technology company should adopt majority votes for board directors.
With co-founder and chief executive Jobs sidelined indefinitely with an undisclosed medical condition, restive investors have demanded more information about the company’s future.
Shareholders voted down a proposal to outline its plan for who will succeed Jobs.
However, they passed a requirement for a majority vote before appointing unopposed board directors, in a key victory for influential shareholder Calpers, the largest US pension fund.
Investor advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services had thrown its weight behind a shareholder proposal to force Apple to disclose a succession plan.
The voting results were preliminary, and no details were yet available.
Tim Cook, Jobs’ top lieutenant, took the spotlight as shareholders dug for answers not just about Jobs, but also the company’s succession plan, what it might do with its $60bn (£37.1bn) cash pile, and what devices may follow the iPad and the iPhone in coming years.